Innovation:

Journalism took a beating in 2016. Donald Trump was elected president, thwarting pollsters and shaking off seemingly endless fact-checking. News organizations continue to lay off journalists … Read More

"Let’s put it this way," New York Times reporter Peter Baker told Farhi about the practice. "It’s not intended to increase candor.”

That's assuming reporters can get near administration officials in the first place. The administration has kept the president unencumbered by reporters during two meetings with super PAC donors this week, and it limited coverage of an event in Washington Tuesday, Edward Isaac Dovere and Josh Gerstein report in Politico.

“I would only ask that you judge us by our record and the record of our predecessors," they say White House principal deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters Wednesday. "Without a doubt, I think we’ve done more to achieve the president’s commitment to transparency than any previous administration.”

Fournier includes an example of a time he resisted an off-the-record meeting:

I did this a few times, most memorably during the 2004 presidential campaign when Democratic nominee John Kerry wanted to chat with reporters aboard his plane. He wanted it to be "off the record," which means whatever he wanted to say could never be reported. Years ago, I agreed to similar terms aboard Air Force One with President Clinton, and watched in horror as competitors violated the terms. My editor wasn't happy with me. With that memory, I politely told Kerry that I would be taking notes and filing.

Kerry had a choice. He could chat with us on my terms (a "win-win") or walk away. He stormed back to his cabin, and I got back to writing an analysis of his flailing campaign.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Andrew Beaujon reported on the media for Poynter from 2012 to 2015. He was previously arts editor at TBD.com and managing editor of Washington City Paper. He's the author of the 2006 book "Body Piercing Saved My Life," about Christian rock and evangelical Christian culture.